Emma G. Wildford

The journey is the destination in this tale of one woman’s trek into icy Scandinavia—but the destination turns out to be a far more complicated thing than anticipated. Emma G. Wildford, a poet of minor renown, has been in love with Roald since she was a teenager. Roald, however, has gone missing on an expedition to the far reaches of northern Finland, in search of a mythical tomb. Emma, being the thoroughly modern woman of the 1920s she is, decides to set out to find him herself—but she might not be prepared for what she finds, from the cruel beauty of Lapland to the truth of Roald’s disappearance. Edith’s lushly textured pencils and dusky colors find beauty in everything from Arctic scrubs to old rugby equipment. Crucially, she and Zidrou are not afraid to linger in unease: a quiet car ride, a child’s snowman, and a long, forlorn walk across a frozen lake figure among the most powerful and discomfiting moments in the book. This is a victory song of a book, a bruised and battered cry of resilience, fortitude, and courage in the face of despair. Emma does not find what she wanted at the end of her journey, and neither, perhaps, does the reader—but they both get what they need. (Nov.)